Meat skinning machines characteristically include a frame which includes a meat supporting surface, a cylindrical gripping roll with a plurality of teeth on the outer surface thereof, and a blade holding device which maintains a cutting blade closely adjacent the teeth of the gripping roll. The meat, fish or poultry to be skinned is moved into contact with the teeth of the gripping roll which pulls the meat into engagement with the cutting edge of the blade. The blade severs the skin of the meat product whereby the separated skin is pulled underneath the blade by the gripping roll, and the skinned meat product passes over the top of the blade to a suitable receptacle.
The thickness of the skin or layer of material to be removed from the meat product in conventional skinning machines has heretofore been varied by adjusting the position of the cutting edge of the blade with respect to the teeth of the gripping roll. Thus, when the cutting edge is positioned closely adjacent the cutting teeth a thinner layer is removed from the meat product. Conversely, when the cutting edge is spaced further from the periphery of the gripping teeth of the gripper roll a thicker layer of skin and/or fat is removed from the meat product.
While great advances have been made in skinning machines over the years, the precision at which skin or membranes are removed from meat products has been less than perfect. Obviously, valuable meat products are wasted if too much material is removed, and the quality of the meat product is depreciated if less than the desired skin or membrane is removed.